Is this just how older dog behave?

[poddlefan]

Just a bit of background Ive had lots of dogs before mainly gun dogs who have bounced through life and developed an acute illness and died having at the very least reached the life expectancy for the breed. I now have an 11 yr old miniature poodle up until a few months ago he was very healthy having never had illness in his life although he does have an age related cataract and I suspect has very limited vision in one eye. He’s super fit and active would easily walk 8-10 miles a day. In the last few months things have changed. He’s not eating with the same enthusiasm, I now leave his food down all night and picks at it. He just seems quiet at time, nothing specific I can put my finger on but a couple of times my non doggy DH has said “Is the dog ok?” He just doesn’t seem his usual self. He’s not limping, he’s peeing and pooing as normal his teeth were down 6 months ago and three months ago he was in the vet and had investigators because he seemed uncomfortable around his mouth/ears/neck/jaw/back he had an anaesthetic and examined from head to toe nothing was found all bloods X-rays etc NAD. The other night he was just quiet, didn’t quite seem himself so I gave him a dose of metacam within an hour he picked up and seemed much more cheerful. He’s always keen to go for a walk jumping around he can jump into my car (an SUV so quite high of the ground). He’s always pleased to see me/family. He does live with a young male dog who he would bully but he’s coming into his own and is refusing to be pushed around now. I wonder if this is causing his behaviour.

Is this just normal older dog behaviour.

If he was better after the metacam I would say he's in pain. Have you tried starting him on Yumove and other joint supplements? My 10 year old is on Yumove, turmeric and boswellia and it has really helped his pain

Yumove helped our elderly dogs in the past too.
What’s the metacam for? There’s definitely something wrong somewhere if he’s better after having it.

If metacam is helping I would speak to your vet about arthritis.

I agree he’s probably in pain.

My old girl was diagnosed with a cancer then later arthritis. My vet prescribed tramadol and metacam. I also used to give her doggy massages. I think it helped, but more importantly she loved it.

The metacam part is what sticks out most to me, I'm thinking arthritis and/or other age related pains. Definitely speak to your vet about that, with treatment dogs with arthritis can live really well.

Hope you get him sorted!

No it is not normal for old dogs.

I have been known to take my dog to the vet because "they looked depressed" after tests it was confirmed they had kidney issues.

So I would go back to the vet get some bloods done and see if they recommend a painkiller trial.

Thank you three months ago I noticed he was subdued and declining food which is not like him I took him to the vets which was when he had lots of investigations tests etc they agreed he wasn’t”quite right” but could find nothing and when I picked him up he was back to bouncing around. Do I over walk him he does at least 6 miles a day although he doesn’t run around so much he stays by me especially in unfamiliar places but I’m assuming that’s because his sight is going.
Hes sensitive and I wondered if the changing dynamics beteeen him and my young dog are upsetting him? Although he gets at least one day where the young dog isn’t around so he can have lots of TLC and the young dog isn’t allowed on the furniture and he is so gets lots of fuss then.
Ill go back to the vet.

Should add he has an exceedingly low threshold of pain I accidentally tried on his paw last year and the fuss he made I thought I’d at the very least broken his leg in five places after 15 mins of screaming and standing on three legs he gingerly put it to the floor and then skipped off as if nothing had happened vet said this is very normal for poodles.
I’m not saying I won’t give him analgesia but no one would describe him as a stoic.

Our dog had a period where she just seemed depressed/not interested in walks. We thought she was sulking because my husband was working away a lot! Vet couldn’t find any obvious cause and we went back and forth for months but in the end assumed arthritis and, after supplements didn’t help, we started her on loxicom (painkiller). It worked really well for her - she was back to her old self within a few weeks and still going strong a couple of years on!
I think if metacam helped he’s definitely in some pain and even if you don’t know the cause it makes sense to treat it to improve his quality of life - hopefully vet will agree.

Just because he can jump, doesn’t mean he should.
Is he on any joint supplements ?

Mine is a drama queen too, but the chronic arthritis pain doesn't seem to make him fuss like something more acute - like he would yelp trying to jump on the bed if he'd had a big walk and then laid around and got stiff. I notice that his limit for walking has reduced too, so where he could walk all day when younger, he now is best kept to 7km max. And we've stopped throwing a ball for him as he would sprint around and do tight turns then regret it later

He is not in any joint supplement. Unfortunately or fortunately I have an excellent eye for lameness/unevenness I can spot an uneven horse quicker than an equine vet!!! I never see anything and trust me always looking it’s just habit.
We live by the sea and he used to run around like a mad thing on the beach now he stands and watched the young dog do it. I’m going to chat to my vet about regular analgesia/joint supplements.
Today he’s full of beans and very cheerful.

You don’t wait for lameness and issues to use joint supplements , we’ve used them for years in the hope that they help to delay any issues from arising .

He is not in any joint supplement. Unfortunately or fortunately I have an excellent eye for lameness/unevenness I can spot an uneven horse quicker than an equine vet!!! I never see anything and trust me always looking it’s just habit.

Unfortunately - by the time they're showing symptoms they've often already been in pain for a fair amount of time already.

As @Floralnomad said, supplements should generally be started in preparation for old age, not once it's already hit.

Can I jump on the end and ask why you’re all using for joints ?
my dig won’t eat YuMove little bone shapes since they changed the shape and contents. She won’t eat if I put salmon oil on her food . I don’t really want to have to put a tablet down her throat every day. Help !

Thank for all your help I will update you on how he gets on.

@KangarooKenny we use the YuMove chews, crumbled up in ddog1s food, then his boswellia powder stirred in too. The turmeric tablets are tiny and just go in his food as is. He has tinned sardines or pilchards once a week for the oils which he eats much more enthusiastically than adding fish oil

Ask your vet about librela injections if the problem turns out to be pain related , if you google it you will see how it works ,and if it does work on your dog it can sometimes mean that they don't need to be given so much pain relief .